anti foul paint for sterndrive, what type is best?

[Seagirt]

From what I can tell there are two options for antifoul paint on the outdrive:

1) Quick spray on type. Just clean the leg, rough up the original paint a bit, and apply.

2) Interlock. Clean the leg, sand the old paint off down the aluminum, apply primer really really well, and apply interlock coats.

The cons that I've heard about the quick spray on type is that it flakes off and doesn't do nearly as good of a job. But, I'm a little hesitant about about applying the interlock (contains copper) and trusting that the primer will do its job to keep the two metals from reacting. What happens if it gets a chip in it exposing the aluminum?

This is a moored boat and already has Interlock on the fibreglass hull. She doesn't get out of the water much and needs something to keep her clean(er).

Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[island idiots]

I have been told anti foul on your leg is a no no.

 

[bigdogeh]

I've always had antifoul on my outdrives and it hasn't seemed to be a problem. But my boat is also out of the water most of the time... I just went over the existing outdrive paint... (well I didn't but the previous owner did...) my boat is aluminum and uses antifouling for aluminum boats, so maybe it's a bit more compatible for an aluminum leg..

 

[harper44]

Trilux 33 is what you want. It contains Cuprous Thiocyanate, NOT cuprous oxide, and will not facilitate galvanic corrosion. It is recommended to prep and prime surfaces prior to application, but honestly, a good clean oil free painted surface will bond just fine, might only last a couple seasons but you're going to want to reapply anyways.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wolf]

Aquaguard is what I use .. made specially for alum, DO NOT put copper based paint on them..

 

[TenMile]

+1 for Trilux. Not sure which outdrive you have -- I used it on my Bravo III. With that drive, you have to be very careful which paint you use as above. Make sure there is a 1" unpainted border between your transom assembly and the existing bottom paint or it acts as a conductor and can lead to corrosion issues.

When I did mine, I didn't read the directions carefully enough. I roughed up the surface with a 3M plastic pad, but didn't apply primer. However, after 2 seasons none of the paint came off and it protected the drive perfectly.

For props I did some reading and experimented using Anhydrous Lanolin. Get a tube at the drug store in the baby section for about $7. Smear it onto all the surfaces of your props (its like wax) and then use a propane torch, heat up the metal and melt it onto the prop. I tried it last summer -- the boat sat in the water from August to February and when I sold it, we hauled the boat out for an inspection and the props were perfectly clean. Would have been more interesting to see what happened during the spring and summer when most of the growth happens, but for my short experiment it worked better than expected.

 

[Seagirt]

Thanks all, for the advice. I'll probably go with the trilux 33 option (that is what I was thinking of, not the the interluk). Thanks Harper and Tenmile for the great info. (My drive is a Bravo III also, Tenmile, although I've read that you now have a new boat. It's possible the 288 now lives out here in Sooke?). I haven't decided yet if I'll take it all the way down to the aluminum or not, especially since it seems to apply fine to the existing paint. I guess I'll see how lazy or anxious I'm feeling.

The trick for the prop sounds great. I'll give that a try, including on my trim tabs that harboured a fair bit of mussel growth.

 

[TenMile]

That's her...